


Recluse

by sinfulwonder



Series: Saiou Week 2019 [7]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Light Angst, M/M, Saihara Shuichi's Birthday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 07:47:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20560760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinfulwonder/pseuds/sinfulwonder
Summary: After the death of Kaede, Shuichi had taken to spending his days holed up in his room sulking. That is, until one supreme leader breaks into his dorm to get Shuichi to actually relax and have fun for once.





	Recluse

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the last day of Saiou Week:  
Day 7: Shuichi's Birthday/Free Write
> 
> WOO We did it fam!

Shuichi Saihara stared up at his ceiling as the morning announcement played.

_What was the point?_

It had been a few days since Kaede’s trial, and it had sunk in that he may not ever leave this place. He knew he was never going to kill anyone, so that left his only options as being killed or surviving.

_Someone who can barely look people in the eyes doesn’t seem like much of a survivor candidate._

So he had taken to sulking in his room most days, avoiding all of the potential threats.

Because, as Shuichi saw it: if Kaede could kill someone, anyone could.

It really wasn’t that all that bad. The days had blended together already, so Shuichi had no idea how long he’d been in there. Kirumi would knock twice a day to leave food at his door step, so it seemed like imprisoning himself to his room was a viable long term option.

That is, until he heard a different knock than Kirumi’s usual quiet one. It was loud and obnoxious and Shuichi winced at the sudden noise.

“Saihara-channnnnnn!” A voice sang out through the door. Kokichi Ouma.

He didn’t bother answering. He’d go away. They all went away eventually, even Kaito, as persistent as he had seemed.

“Saihara-chan, I have food for you!” Kokichi’s voice lilted through the drywall and rang in Shuichi’s ears, “So open up or I’ll be forced to take _drastic _measures!” There was a bite to those last couple words, something slightly menacing, and yet undoubtedly a lie knowing Ouma’s track record.

So Shuichi remained silent, curling up on his bed.

_He’d go away._

**CLICK.**

“Huh?” Shuichi glanced up when he heard the click of the handle. Standing before him, holding a tray and smiling, was Kokichi, “How d-did you get in here?”

“Silly Saihara-chan, you shouldn’t leave your door unlocked! _Anybody _could just walk right in!” Kokichi scolded and shoved the tray onto the detective’s lap.

“I-I did lock it. I know I did. How-”

Ouma chuckled at him, “It was a lie of course! No mere lock can stop the Ultimate Supreme Leader! Silly Saihara-chan would know that if he came out of his room more often!”

Shuichi’s eyes widened in horror, “Ouma-kun…did you _break_ my lock?”

Kokichi doubled over in laughter at that, “Neeheehee! You got me!”

Shuichi jumped out of his bed and ran to his door, only to see his very intact, working lock. He stared for a moment, before flinging back around to stare at the now cackling Ouma.

“That’s the fastest I’ve seen you move the entire time you’ve been here, my beloved detective!” Shuichi couldn’t help but blush at the endearing term, as Kokichi continued speaking, “But yes, your lock still works. Your welcome!”  
“I don’t think you _not _destroying my lock when breaking and entering in my dorm is really a call for thanks,” Shuichi replied dryly as Kokichi smirked at him.

“Well I think it is!” Kokichi placed his hands on his hips, “I mean I should have broken it just to get you out of this dingy room. So as thanks, hurry up and get dressed! We’re going to get you some fresh air!”

Shuichi sighed, “No thanks, Ouma-kun. I’d prefer-”

“Psh! Did I say you got a choice?” Kokichi smirked, “Now get dressed Saihara-chan! Today’s a special day!”

_A special day?_

After a bit more fruitless arguing, Shuichi eventually gave up and got dressed. He stepped outside after quickly eating his brunch, and he saw Kokichi leaning against the wall next to the door. His face lit up when he saw the detective.

“Oh good, I was thinking I might have to lockpick your door again to drag you out!” Kokichi exclaimed, wrapping an arm through Shuichi’s own and pulling him along, “Now come on, we’ve got a lot to do today!”

Kokichi rambled on to the detective, effectively filling him in on everything that had happened during his absence. It seemed that they had unlocked several new rooms and buildings, and Kokichi planned to give Shuichi the grand tour. He decided to first show him the several ultimate labs that had been unlocked. Which also meant that they would most likely run into several of their fellow prisoners along the way. As disconcerting as this was to Shuichi, he had to admit that having Kokichi with him was really comforting.

As hyper and talkative as the supreme leader seemed, he stayed with Shuichi, never leaving him alone as they explored the 4 new ultimate labs together. Gonta, Kirumi, Himiko, and Ryoma’s labs were interesting, but pretty much what Shuichi would have expected for his fellow Ultimates. Maki’s lab had also been unlocked, but she seemed to be standing guard, and while she was happy Shuichi was up and about, she had also been adamant about no one entering her lab. Even after Kokichi had pestered her for an obscene amount of time, pulling out all the stops including whining and crocodile tears.

But overall the exploration was interesting and Kokichi kept the conversation light and entertaining. It was strange, since Kokichi didn’t really seem the type to care about others, but he had been the only one to get Shuichi to actually leave his dorm room in days.

“Saihara-chan, we’ve still got more to see!” The supreme leader grinned as Shuichi let himself be pulled down the stairs, towards the outside of the Ultimate Academy.

“Why exactly are you putting so much effort into me, Ouma-kun?” Shuichi asked, as the question had been on his mind for a while. No one else had tried that hard.

Kokichi stood, tilting his head as his face went blank for a moment, “Hmm,” the supreme leader began to smile, “Because you’re my favorite, of course!”

“H-huh?”

“Yep! Saihara-chan is so interesting! I just hate seeing him so sad and secluded!” Kokichi sounded so chipper as he said the words, but Shuichi noticed a glimmer of sadness in his eyes, “That’s a lie of course! I just got bored of everyone else and needed a new minion to bother!”

Shuichi allowed his lips to curl into a small smile, “Thank you, Ouma-kun. I think I needed this.”

Kokichi didn’t reply, instead pulling him towards their next stop.

“Wow…” Shuichi stared as the lights of the fully operational casino nearly blinded him.

Kokichi just laughed and dragged him to the basement where they spent much too long playing various games.

* * *

“Look!” Shuichi watched as Kokichi handed him a thick, colorful book that he picked up from the prize booth at the casino, “It’s a travel journal, only it was written by a recluse, just like you!” The supreme leader thrust the book into the detective’s hands.

“Wait, Ouma-kun, are you giving this to me?” Shuichi’s eyes widened in fascination as he flipped through the captivating book.

Kokichi simply nodded, watching for the boy’s reaction.

“You…giving me something this wonderful…” Shuichi said quietly, “I wish I could give you something in return...”

Kokichi thought for a second and then let out a short laugh, “You can! You can stop hiding in your dorm all the time!”

The detective frowned, “I’m…not sure.”

“Just take it slow,” Kokichi smiled, at the navy-haired boy, “But could you come to breakfast tomorrow? It’d…make me happy.”

“Ouma-kun…” Shuichi felt his cheeks warm up a bit at the boy being so honest with him, “O-okay. I’ll be t-there.”

“Yay! I’m so happy Shumai!”

“S-Shumai?” Shuichi face flushed more, flustered at the nickname.

Kokichi grinned mischievously, “Yep! My beloved Shumai!”

“S-shut up, Ouma-kun,” Shuichi turned away from the boy, clutching his travel journal affectionately in his arms.

* * *

“Okay, here’s our final stop!” Kokichi exclaimed, as they stood in front of a door that had once been concealed by vines.

“A pool?” Shuichi asked, examining the door, before Kokichi pulled the boy inside.

Shuichi gasped as the rest of the students stood waiting with smiles on their faces, “SURPRISE!”

A large banner was hanging above the pool:

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHUICHI!**

_It’s my birthday? I can’t believe I forgot…_

Shuichi stood dumbfounded as the various students congratulated him and presented him with small gifts from the vending machine or casino. None were as perfect as the travel journal, but they were thoughtful all the same. There was a long table set up with a large variety of foods, assumedly made by Kirumi. He set his gift pile down on one of the chairs as Kokichi stood by, a large grin adorning his face.

“So, were you surprised?”

Shuichi smiled, “I didn’t even remember that today was my birthday, so yeah, I was very surprised… Was this your idea, Ouma-kun?”

“Nope, not at all!”

_That was a definite lie._

“Thank you.” Shuichi felt his arms wrap around the small boy as he pulled him into a hug. Kokichi tried to wriggle free, but Shuichi held on for just a few moments longer as he whispered, “Thank you so much…Kokichi.”

When he released him, Shuichi couldn’t help but laugh at the supreme leader’s bright red face.

_Maybe I could learn to trust these people after all. Maybe it’ll be okay._

For the first time since Kaede’s death, Shuichi felt like he could actually survive the killing game.

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe I actually did a piece every day for Saiou Week! It's been a lot of work to come up with an idea every day for the past week, and some of the works may be less polished than I'd usually like, but this has been a really cool experience and I'm so so glad I did it! I hope y'all enjoyed these short fluffy pieces and while I'm not going to be updating every day, I'll still be trying to put new stuff out at least once a week.
> 
> Thanks so much to everyone for the nice comments throughout the week! Also special thanks to the super amazing im-not-like-other-girls-im-satan on tumblr for drawing fan art for Rain! Like wow that was so unexpected and cool. :D


End file.
